This invention relates to steam rolled grain. More particularly, this invention is a new system and method for preheating unprocessed grain before it is steamed and flaked in a roller mill.
There are several advantages to feeding livestock steam rolled grain versus the same formula of unprocessed grain. In certain feeds, the steam conditioning process creates chemical changes in the feed, making it possible for animals to more rapidly digest and convert the feed to weight. Rolling the grain or flaking also makes the feed more readily digestible by the animal. Additionally, the steaming process also reduces the bacteria that may be present in animal feeds, thus reducing disease such as salmonellosis in the animals.
It is very desirable to reduced the amount of energy used in the steaming process. Fuel costs for heating can be a large proportion of the operating costs. The cost benefit of feeding steam rolled grain to animals may be more than offset by inefficient operation of the heating system in the steam roller mill. Energy costs can be reduced by extracting and recovering heat from the process and limiting waste heat.
One method for preheating is to divert hot air from the exhaust stack to the steam generator. While this does reduce energy consumption, the overall system efficiency is raised very slight. Also, complicated heat exchange equipment is required.
The present invention is a more energy efficient system for producing steam rolled grain and a new method of making steam rolled grain or flakes. The system uses a more direct heat exchange relationship, that is transferring heat from the processed flakes through air to the unprocessed grain, and thus a more energy efficient process. Thus, there is a large saving in energy which increases the cost benefit of steam rolled grain.